For many, use of portable, wireless device by which to communicate is a regular aspect of daily life. The wireless devices operable in cellular, and cellular-like, communication systems, for instance, are used to communicate telephonically and, increasingly, to perform data communication services.
The infrastructure of wireless communication networks have been installed throughout significant portions of the populated areas of the world. And, a user of a wireless device, when positioned in communication range of compatible network infrastructure and permitted to be placed in communication connectivity therewith, is able, by way of the wireless device and the network infrastructure, to communicate with a remote device to carry out a communication service.
The network infrastructures of wireless communication systems are connectable to other types of communication systems, such as PSTNs (Public Switched Telephonic Networks). When the remote device is connected to the PSTN, a circuit-switched connection formable between the wireless device and the remote device, thereby to provide for communication between the wireless device and the remote device by way of the circuit-switched connection.
Newer-generation communication systems, and devices operable therein, often times utilize digital communication techniques. Use of digital communication techniques are advantageously utilized to communicate information for the reason that information is generally more efficiently communicated. Redundancies in the information can be removed from the information prior to transmission. And, by more efficiently communicating the information, the bandwidth required of a communication channel to perform the communication is reduced.
Often times, when utilizing a digital communication technique, the digitized information is formatted into packets forming data packets. Data packets can be communicated in discrete intervals or bursts by a sending communication station. When delivered to a receiving communication station, the data packets are collected, and the informational content of the information is obtained. The sending and receiving communication stations form communication endpoints.
Many packet-based communication services have been developed. Amongst the packet-based communication services that are now available, are VoIP, Voice over Internet Protocol, services. A VoIP service provides packet-based telephonic communications of both voice and data. VoIP communications are implementable as end-to-end communication services, that is, services that do not require any intermediary between the communication endpoints to provide any function other than to provide a transport medium upon which define communication channels. VoIP service providers are able to provide VoIP communication services using existing packet-based networks, such as the internet. In contrast to traditional wire line, telephonic service providers, start-up costs associated with a VoIP service provider are, as a result, relatively low. And, partly as a result, there has been a proliferation of VoIP service providers.
The consumer of VoIP services, therefore, typically has a selection of a number of service providers to elect to utilize for the performance of a VoIP communication service.
A VoIP service is implementable at a wireless device. Other packet-based communication services also are implementable at a wireless device. To perform a VoIP communication service, as well as another packet-based communication service, an associated application, associated with the particular service provider, is typically installed at the wireless device.
It is in light of this background information related to packet communication services that the significant improvements of the present disclosure of evolved.